Sand Trends and Habitat Degradation

Scholarship domains: Discovery, Teaching and Learning Author keywords: Sand Movement, Fish Diversity, Kankakee River, Sportfish, Side-scan sona

The long-term Illinois rivers fish population monitoring program 2014

This report presents a summary of those data collected during segment 26(2014-15) of the Long-term Illinois Rivers Fish Population Monitoring Program(LTEF), an annual survey executed by members of the Illinois Natural History Survey with funds administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Sampling for the LTEF program was conducted on: six reaches of the Illinois River Waterway, six segments or pools of the Mississippi River, and navigable portions of the Iroquois and Kankakee Rives. In all segments of the LTEF program, all fish species collected were accurately identified, tallied, measured, and weighed. The catch rates of sportfish species were calculated as the number of individuals collected per hour (CPUEN± standard error). Structural indices [Proportional Size Distribution (PSD) and Relative Weight (Wr)] were also calculated for species of interest to regional managers. Catch rates and species richness varied greatly among all sampling locations and sampling periods. Emerald Shiners and Gizzard Shad comprised the majority of the individuals caught, and Silver Carp and Common Carp accounted for the greatest proportion of the biomass collected in most sampling areas of the survey. The analysis of CPUEN and PSD trends in sportfish populations sampled by the program may indicate inter-annual recruitment patterns in sportfish populations around the state. Both Shovelnose Sturgeon and Blue Catfish were the two species most commonly encountered in the gill net surveys.IDNR Division of Fisheries Project F-101-R, Segment 26unpublishednot peer reviewe

Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois, 2017

This report presents a summary of those data collected during segment 29 (2017-18) of the Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois (LTEF), an annual survey by members of the Illinois Natural History Survey,with funds administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Sampling for the LTEF program was conducted on: six reaches of the Illinois River Waterway, four segments or pools of the Mississippi River, and navigable portions of the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers. In all segments of the LTEF program, all fish species collected were accurately identified, tallied, measured, and weighed. The catch rates of sportfish species were calculated as the number of individuals collected per hour (CPUEN± standard error). Structural indices [Proportional Size Distribution (PSD) and Relative Weight (Wr)] were also calculated for several species of interest to regional managers. Catch rates and species varied among all sampling locations and sampling periods. Gizzard Shad and Emerald Shiners comprised the majority of the individuals caught, and Silver Carp and Common Carp accounted for the greatest proportion of the biomass collected in most sampling areas of the survey. Future analysis of CPUEN and PSD trends in sportfish populations sampled by the program may indicate inter-annual recruitment patterns or/andlong-term trends in Illinois sportfish populations.Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration project F-101-Runpublishednot peer reviewe

Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois, 2015

This report presents a summary of those data collected during segment 26 (2014-15) of the Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois (LTEF), an annual survey executed by members of the Illinois Natural History Survey with funds administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Sampling for the LTEF program was conducted on: six reaches of the Illinois River Waterway, six segments or pools of the Mississippi River, and navigable portions of the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers. In all segments of the LTEF program, all fish species collected were accurately identified, tallied, measured, and weighed. The catch rates of sportfish species were calculated as the number of individuals collected per hour (CPUEN± standard error). Structural indices [Proportional Size Distribution (PSD) and Relative Weight (Wr)] were also calculated for species of interest to regional managers. Catch rates and species richness varied greatly among all sampling locations and sampling periods. Emerald Shiners and Gizzard Shad comprised the majority of the individuals caught, and Silver Carpand Common Carp accounted for the greatest proportion of the biomass collected in most sampling areas of the survey. The analysis of CPUEN and PSD trends in sportfish populations sampled by the program may indicate inter-annual recruitment patterns or long-term trends in sportfish populations around the state. Shovelnose Sturgeon was the species most commonly encountered in the gill net surveys; sampling was substantially reduced during the 2015-2016 winter season relative to previous years due to moderate to major flooding during the majority of the field season.IDNR Division of Fisheries U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service F-101-R, Segment 27unpublishednot peer reviewe

Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois, 2016

3EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis report presents a summary of those data collected during segment 28(2016-17) of the Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois(LTEF), an annual survey by members of the Illinois Natural History Survey,with funds administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Sampling for the LTEF program was conducted on: six reaches of the Illinois River Waterway, foursegments or pools of the Mississippi River, and navigable portions of the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers. In all segments of the LTEF program, all fish species collected were accurately identified, tallied, measured, and weighed. The catchrates of sportfishspecies were calculated as the number of individuals collected per hour (CPUEN± standard error).Structural indices [Proportional Size Distribution (PSD) and Relative Weight (Wr)] were also calculated for several species of interest to regional managers. Catch rates and species varied among all sampling locationsand sampling periods. Emerald Shiners and Gizzard Shad comprised the majority of the individuals caught, andSilverCarpand Common Carp accounted for the greatest proportion of the biomass collected in most sampling areasof the survey. Futureanalysis of CPUENand PSD trends in sportfish populations sampled by the program may indicate inter-annual recruitment patterns or/andlong-term trends in Illinois sportfish populations.Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration F-101-R, Segment 28Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fisheriesunpublishednot peer reviewe

Alignment and Testing of Critical Interface Fixtures for the James Webb Space Telescope

NASAs James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a 6.6m diameter, segmented, deployable telescope for cryogenic IR space astronomy. The JWST Observatory architecture includes the Primary Mirror Backplane Support Structure (PMBSS) and Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) Electronics Compartment (IEC) which is designed to integrate to the spacecraft bus via six cupcone interfaces. Prior to integration to the spacecraft bus the JWST observatory must undergo environmental testing, handling, and transportation. Multiple fixtures were developed to support these tasks including the vibration fixture and handling and integration fixture (HIF). This work reports on the development of the nominal alignment of the six interfaces and metrology operations performed for the JWST observatory to safely integrate them for successful environmental testing

Long-term impacts of water quality and climate variability on Illinois River waterway fish assemblages

The Illinois River has been heavily altered by a range of human activities. Among these, wetlands have been drained, lock and dams constructed, navigation channels maintained, and industrial effluent and sewage discharged. These alterations have strongly affected fish assemblages within the river. In 1957, the Illinois Natural History Survey began the Long-Term Fish Population Monitoring Program to sample fish assemblages throughout the Illinois River Waterway (IRW) on a yearly basis. During the 1960s, researchers observed that much of the upper river was depauperate. Fishes consisted almost entirely of pollution tolerant non-native common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and goldfish (Carassius auratus). Following implementation of the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA), the upper river fish assemblages gradually became much more diverse. This increased diversity was thought to have resulted from pollution mitigation efforts, mandated by the CWA. However, the relationships between fish assemblages and specific water quality variables have not been established. Additionally, interannual climate variability may have significantly affected flow, water temperature, and water quality that, in turn, affected fish assemblages. My goal was to redress the lack of statistical support for the role of water quality and climate variability in multiple descriptors of fish assemblages. I obtained comprehensive water quality data from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and regional climate data from the National Climatic Data Center for the upper 207km of the IRW between 1983 and 2010. I used multiple linear and random forests regression to assess the relative importance of water quality and climate variables on multiple fish assemblage attributes (e.g., proportion of predators, species richness, and functional diversity). Models found ammonia, dissolved oxygen, and clarity most capable of explaining the observed assemblage changes. Climate played a smaller, but important role. Moreover, assemblage attributes based on fish biomass tended to be better explained by the environmental data than those based on fish abundance. My results indicate that, even in a heavily modified and regulated river, better water quality management alone can substantially improve the biodiversity and structure of fish assemblages. The results also highlight specific water quality variables (e.g. ammonia, dissolved oxygen, clarity) to direct the focus of monitoring and regulation programs